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Was just there this week and it was better than last year. Everything that had multiple trains was running 2 trains except for Ninja and Goldrusher but the waits were minimal so it was no big deal. One thing that was annoying was Tatsu during the day when it was busy had 2 train 1 station operation and at night when the line thinned a little had 2 train 2 station operation. This seemed backwards. X2 was awesome although there is a little 'bump' just before the last raven turn and I banged my head real good. I agree with what was said about Riddler's station. They really need to get the air circulating in there. It gets hot and you are crammed in there with a bunch of hot smelly people-not good. It looked to me that if they replaced the clogged air filters in the intake in the station, the air would work. Also during the day when it was hot there was no air in Batman's tunnels but at night there was. Again backwards. I noticed several ride stations that have air but don't use it. Overall it was a fun trip.

Could be big, is a new or used ride....duh you think?

That explanation about the trailering was great! It totally made sense and I could visualize what you were talking about. On an Arrow the wheel sets on one car, for example, are connected together in a fixed way so say the left side running/upstop/guide assembly cannot pivot independantly of the one on the right side. On a B&M/Intamin, the left side assembly and the right each pivot independantly of each other which allows for this articulation. And if I am not mistaken, eventhough the guide wheels are on the inside I believe X2 has a similar type of articulated axel design. Also, eventhough the articulated axel design allows each side to independantly pivot, they are connected together with an adjustable tie rod so they both move in unison - they pivot on the chassis as opposed to being fixed to it. This type of articulated axel is also found on Invertigos and GIBs. Looking closely at some of the pics it almost looks like this has articulated axels too, or at least pivots on the chassis. I did notice the guide and upstops have the rubber blocks to allow them to pivot and stay against the track.

Exactly Jew thank you. And I would like to add about the comment on Disney rides holding more people and having more safety systems than most other rides, I find difficult to believe. Most if not all modern rides/coasters have numerous safety systems and backups - this incident is the perfect example of that. The computer detected a sensor fault and as a safety precaution to prevent accident or injury, shut the ride down. Completely normal end of story. Besides, where were all these safety systems when Big Thunder Mountain Railroad had an accident caused by operator error? If the proper safety system had been in place the ride would have shut down before that happened. And if I remember correctly it was also a software problem but still, some kind of safety system would have caught that. So no that is not likely true. Can anyone back me up on this?

Was afraid this was going to happen? What a strange thing to say. It almost sounded like you knew this was going to happen like you sabotaged it. A sensor going bad really is not an unusual thing. There are so many sensors on so many rides any one of them could go bad at any time. So when they do go bad, which is a normal thing as stuff like that will wear out or fail, will you say you were afraid that was going to happen too? The sensor went bad and the ride shut down like it is normally supposed to do which is what you should expect to happen.

^But if you can feel the heat from it in the daytime then it is not a waste. Yeah it looks better at night but the effect is still interesting during the day too. ^^Even if it is 100 degrees you only experience it for a few seconds, not really long enough to make someone unreasonably uncomfortable. Even if it does, as soon as you realize it the uncomfortable feeling passes - I think you can bear it. Besides that, you are traveling on a coaster with the wind/air hitting you to cool you down.

Really? That would be great news. Where did you get that from? And about the 101 sign, yeah I know it has been there forever but it had fallen into disrepair, and was half working. Obviously it was not cheap for CF to get it working properly and remove the Paramount crap from it so essentially it is a new sign in that sense.

Actually I do think that CF is more committed to the park than Paramount was. They just added Firefall, not just a flat ride, but a heavily themed flat ride. I highly doubt that if they did not care about the park they would put in something like Firefall. Plus, they are actually trying to get the coaster in, it's not like GL where they didn't have any additions except water park and cheaply placed flats. Introducing the Halloween Haunt and the ice show this year also helps me to believe that CF values this park. Attendance (in the days that I've been) has been up, especially compared to these past years. I have a hard time thinking that CF would sell the park. Agreed. Plus, the extended park hours, the expensive new sign by highway 101, and I have been seeing a buttload of CGA commercials, sometimes one right after the other. These commercials seem to be on a lot more frequently than the SFDK ads. If I were to guess, I would say you'd see 3-4 CGA ads before seeing one ad for SFDK. I really believe CF wants to keep this park and expand it when the 49er deal falls through. I do remember from one of the articles CF said they had 'future expansion plans' for CGA.

Whatever Prudential. Grow up and stop complaining, it's gonna be built anyway.

OMG what is the PC term for 'fat discrimination?' Fat discrimination...LOL!!! But 4 people = 900 pounds? That's just plain wrong. And what could you say... "Excuse me, but you cannot all ride together because you are all way too fat, would you please split up and take a fat seat on the next fat raft? A fat thanks to you all."

So it sounds like they either did not read the warning signs or ignored them and because of that they got hurt and are threatening to sue. THIS IS REDICULOUS! Why can't people just read the signs and follow them, they are there to prevent stuff like this from happening. But then again there is no way to protect (these) people from their own stupidity.

^^Good stuff, thanks.

..."if you don't have a sense of humor then turn back now."

^Ok that was a little harsh and I apologize. Flight Deck is definitely not the best and certainly not the worst B&M inverted coaster but I am sorry you did not like it. I want to ask you though, between CGA and SFDK, which park did you like better and why? Was it the rides, atmosphere or appearance, park layout, etc? And if you could pick only one coaster from those two parks as your favorite which one would it be?

Lot's of great info there and for your first TR that was pretty awesome, I found it very informative but I have to disagree on a couple of things..... One of the worst??? Although it is extremely short it is still very intense and certainly not one of the worst, are you kidding me? Grizzly better than Giant Dipper? I gotta ask you, what planet are you from?

I don't understand. How can they stack with only one train? Do you mean they were leaving it in the brake run because they weren't paying attention or slow on dispatches or something? I thought stacking only happens with 2 or more trains because you stack one behind the other. If there is only one train, there is nothing to stack behind it, unless it means something else. Please elaborate and correct me if I'm wrong.

The 49ers should give up...they can't win. Don't the people of Santa Clara still have to vote on this or has that happened yet? I for one would much rather have an amusement park instead of a crappy football team/stadium and I am sure there are many that feel the same and I am willing to bet those people, especially the ones with kids, would much rather take their kids to a fun and safe amusement park instead of a boring and dangerous football game. Yeah I hate the 9ers and what they are trying to do, I admit that, and I just can't see how this could possibly be good at all besides maybe bringing in more revenue. But then don't the Santa Clara residence have to pay more taxes for this? Traffic would be a nightmare. I have a feeling this will all go away and CF will expand the park and make it better. If there is any good in this then that is what will happen....In my opinion.

Went last night from about 6 until closing to get my creds in. The park is beutiful like always and I don't remember seeing any trash anywhere. Crowds were very light which meant everything was a walk on-it was great! The longest we waited in line was 5 minutes for Invertigo. It's been years since I was able to ride those coasters in the dark and I forgot how different and more exciting they are. Demon was awesome because most of it is unlit and going through the tunnel it was REALLY dark. Firefall looks really nice with the effects and themeing but I did not ride it. The fire was also working on Survivor and you really feel the heat from it standing in line for Drop Tower. After a beer we rode Flight Deck multiple times...loved it! The staff in the park was very friendly and the restraint checker on FD even asked me how I was doing. Eventhough it was slow, the coaster crews were all hustling to get trains dispatched. Never once saw trains get stacked. It really was a 'great' day at Great America.

If you like regular coasters then you should really like inverts. They can be as much FUN as sit down coasters if not more...I said fun not scary. It's kind of strange at first because you are below the track and there is nothing under your feet. If you can get past that, then it's all cake. Some of my favorite coasters are inverts. It's such a weird and different experience and sometimes you get the sensation you are almost flying in an upright position. I have never ridden this one only more intense inverts which I totally love. I am betting you won't ride this just once and after you are done with this one, you'll move on to the bigger and more intense inverts other parks have to offer. Bottom line...nothing to be scared of just have fun on it, that's what they are for.

Not to poke fun at this in any way and I truly hope everyone is ok but I just thought it was funny how the people are flying out of the ride in this picture...

^^I agree. You can't always please everybody and there will always be someone who doesn't like something no matter how much it has improved something else. It's like some people just like to find anything to complain about, and they have every right to voice their opinion even if it is negative about something positive, they might even have a point. Some things are worth complaining about but it is kind of annoying sometimes especially when it's the same stuff over and over again. We've probably all been there, I know I have. Just let it go. The park will continue to improve no matter who complains about what and that's just fine with me. I am just happy it is still there and moving ahead so I can look forward to many more visits in the coming years.

^Wasn't it stated already that this is the company's 2nd coaster?

LIMs are very interesting. Even though there are no moving parts (except for the fins on the train if that counts) or swords that actually make contact with the brakes causing friction and wear, they still make all kinds of noise. Is all that noise just the electrical current going through them causing the 'screechy brake sound? I could understand if it was a friction type brake with moving parts but I don't get this. I guess if you have an electric motor (which is basically what they are if you unrolled the stator) that big with that much current going through it would be pretty loud. But what is it exactly that is making the noise?

Wow that thing looks creepy!

This is terrible and how unfair. Those poor kids spending all that money and basically getting screwed. More should be done about this. Is this how we want the rest of the world to view us? I am horrified by this whole thing. How can the park possibly fire them for making these awful conditions public? What else could they do? Coming all the way over here just to end up stuck at 'home' and go to work. Nobody deserves this. If what the park says is true then what else could they have done to make it better? This could totally end up biting the park in the ass.